Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed
"L.T.", is a
Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a
linebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). He is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of football, and has been ranked as the top defensive player in league history by former players, coaches, media members, and news outlets such as the
NFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
, and
Sporting News.
After an
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n career at the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC) (1978–1981), Taylor was drafted by the Giants as the second overall selection in the
1981 NFL DraftThe 1981 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981...
. Although controversy surrounded the selection due to Taylor's contract demands, the two sides quickly resolved the issue. Taylor won several defensive awards after his rookie season. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Taylor was a disruptive force at outside linebacker, and is credited with changing the pass rushing schemes, offensive line play, and offensive formations used in the NFL. Taylor produced double-digit
sacksIn American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
each season from 1984 through 1990, including a career high of 20.5 in 1986. He also won a record three Defensive Player of the Year awards and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his performance during the 1986 season. He was named First-team All-Pro in each of his first nine seasons and was a key member of the Giants' defense, nicknamed "The
Big Blue Wrecking CrewThe Big Blue Wrecking Crew is a nickname used to refer to the defense for the New York Giants during the 1980s that won two Super Bowl Championships, the first in Super Bowl XXI in 1986 and the other in Super Bowl XXV in 1990...
", that led New York to victories in
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s
XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
and
XXVSuper Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
. During the 1980s Taylor, fellow linebackers
Carl BanksCarl E. Banks is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League from 1984 to 1995 for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns. He made the Pro Bowl in 1987, had 39.5 career quarterback sacks, and was a member of the NFL's 1980's All-Decade Team...
,
Gary ReasonsGary Phillip Reasons is a former American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League, winning Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV as a member of the team.-Biography:...
, and Hall of Famer
Harry CarsonHarold Donald Carson is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire professional career for the NFL's New York Giants...
gave the Giants linebacking corps a reputation as one of the best in the NFL.
Taylor has lived a controversial lifestyle, during and after his playing career. He admitted to using drugs such as
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
as early as his second year in the NFL, and was suspended several times by the league for failing
drug testA drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites...
s. His drug abuse escalated after his retirement, and he was jailed three times for attempted drug possession. From 1998 to 2009, Taylor lived a sober, drug-free life. He worked as a
color commentatorA color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
on sporting events after his retirement, and pursued a career as an actor. His personal life came under public scrutiny in 2011 when he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct involving a 16-year old girl.
Early life
Lawrence Taylor was the second of three sons born to Clarence and Iris Taylor in
Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. His father worked as a
dispatcherDispatchers are communications personnel responsible for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking vehicles and equipment, and recording other important information...
at the Newport News shipyards, while his mother was a schoolteacher. Referred to as Lonnie by his family, Taylor was a mischievous youth. His mother said that "[h]e was a challenging child. Where the other two boys would ask for permission to do stuff, Lonnie...would just do it, and when you found out about it, he would give you a big story." Taylor concentrated on baseball as a youth, in which he played the position of
catcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, and only began playing football at the advanced age of fifteen. He did not play organized high school football until the following year (
eleventh gradeEleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
), and was not heavily
recruitedIn college athletics, recruiting is the term used for the process whereby college coaches add new players to their roster of student-athletes each off-season. In most instances, it involves a coach extending an athletic scholarship offer to a player who is about to graduate from high school or a...
coming out of high school.
After graduating from
Lafayette High SchoolLafayette High School is a public secondary school in James City County, Virginia, just outside the city limits of Williamsburg, Virginia. It is part of Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools and is located at 4460 Longhill Road.-History:...
in 1977, Taylor attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a team captain, and wore #98. Originally recruited as a defensive lineman, Taylor switched to linebacker before the 1979 season. He had 16 sacks in his final year there (1980), and set numerous defensive records. His awards included
All-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
and
Atlantic Coast ConferenceThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
Player of the Year honors in 1980. While there the coaching staff marveled at his intense, reckless style of play. "As a freshman playing on special teams, he'd jump a good six or seven feet in the air to block a punt, then land on the back of his neck," said North Carolina assistant coach Bobby Cale. "He was reckless, just reckless." UNC later retired Taylor's jersey, and subsequent players frequently played in his shadow.
1981 NFL Draft and training camp
In the
1981 NFL DraftThe 1981 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981...
, Taylor was
draftedThe National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the NFL's New York Giants as the 2nd pick overall. In a poll of NFL
General ManagerGeneral manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
s (GMs) taken before the draft 26 of the league's 28 GMs said if they had the first selection they would select Taylor. One of the two GMs who said they would not take Taylor was the GM of the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, who had the first pick in the draft. Giants GM George Young predicted before the draft that he would be better than NFL legends such as
Dick ButkusRichard Marvin "Dick" Butkus is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time. Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. He...
: "Taylor is the best college linebacker I've ever seen. Sure, I saw Dick Butkus play. There's no doubt in my mind about Taylor. He's bigger and stronger than Butkus was. On the
blitzIn American football or Canadian football, a blitz or red dog is when players on or behind the line of scrimmage during a play, are sent across the scrimmage line to the offensive side to try to tackle the quarterback or disrupt his pass attempt...
, he's devastating." Controversy arose before the draft when Taylor and his agent Mike Trope expressed a desire to sign a contract for $250,000 a season, an amount unheard of for a rookie in 1981. Several players on the Giants threatened to
walk outIn labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace as an act of protest.A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an organization, especially if meant as an expression of protest or disapproval.A...
if Taylor was paid that salary, as they refused to play for less than an unproven rookie. On draft day the Saints selected
George RogersGeorge Washington Rogers is a former American football player who achieved distinction in both the college and professional ranks as a running back...
, leaving the Giants with the decision of whether to select Taylor. To the raucous approval of the crowd in attendance at the draft (which was held in New York City), the Giants selected him. Privately, Taylor was hesitant about playing for New York as had hoped to be drafted by the
Dallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, and was unimpressed with a tour of
Giants StadiumGiants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
he was taken on after the draft. Publicly, however, he expressed excitement about the opportunity to play in the city. The players changed their stance after he was drafted as
Harry CarsonHarold Donald Carson is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire professional career for the NFL's New York Giants...
made a point to reach out to him, and Taylor said he "talked to some players and coaches" and "got things straightened out." One of the factors that the Giants said they considered in selecting Taylor was his solid reputation. "He was the cleanest player in the draft. By that I mean there was no rap on him," said head coach Ray Perkins. "Great potential as a linebacker, a fine young man, free of injuries." Taylor chose to wear number 56 because he was a fan of Cowboys linebacker Thomas Henderson.
Taylor's talent was evident from the start of training camp. Reports came out of the Giants training compound of the exploits of the new phenom. Taylor's teammates took to calling him
SupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and joked that his locker should be replaced with a phone booth.
Phil SimmsPhillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...
, the team's
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, said, "on the pass rush, he's an animal. He's either going to run around you or over you. With his quickness, he's full speed after two steps." Taylor made his NFL exhibition debut on August 8, 1981, recording 2 sacks in the Giants' 23–7 win over the
Chicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Before the season word spread around the league about Taylor. Years after facing him in an exhibition game,
Pittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
QuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Terry BradshawTerry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
recalled, "[h]e dang-near killed me, I just kept saying, 'Who is this guy?' He kept coming from my blind side and just ripped my ribs to pieces."
Taylor developed what has been termed a "love-hate relationship" with
Bill ParcellsDuane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...
who was the team's defensive coordinator when he was drafted, and would later become their head coach. Parcells often rode players in the hopes of driving them to better performance. Taylor did not appreciate this approach, and early on told Parcells, "I've had enough. You either cut me or trade me but get the fuck off my back." Parcells kept on Taylor, but told privately told some veterans, "I like that LT. That motherfucker's got a mean streak."
Early career: 1981–1985
Taylor's NFL regular season debut occurred on September 6, 1981 in a 24–10 loss to the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Aside from incurring a penalty for a late hit on Eagles running back
Perry HarringtonPerry Donell Harrington is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Cardinals from 1980–1985. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft...
, Taylor played a nondescript game. In a game versus the
St. Louis CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
later in the season, Taylor rushed and sacked the passer when he supposed to drop into coverage. When told by Parcells that was not what he was assigned to do on that play, and that what he did was not in the playbook, Taylor responded "Well, we better put it in on Monday, because that play's a dandy." He recorded 9.5 sacks in 1981, and his rookie season is considered one of the best in NFL history. He was named 1981's
NFL Defensive Rookie of the YearSince 1967, the Associated Press has given two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to National Football League players: one for an offensive player and one for a defensive player. These two are often regarded as the "official" awards...
and Defensive Player of the Year, making him as of 2010 the only rookie to win DPOY. Taylor's arrival helped the Giants defense reduce their points allowed from 425 points in 1980 to 257 in 1981. They finished the season 9–7, up five games from the previous season, and advanced to the NFL divisional playoffs, where they lost 38–24 to the eventual
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
champion
San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. The San Francisco win was due partly to a new tactic 49ers coach
Bill WalshWilliam Ernest "Bill" Walsh was a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford Cardinal football team, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense....
used to slow Taylor. Walsh assigned guard
John AyersJohn Ayers was a National Football League offensive lineman from 1977 through 1987. During that span, he appeared in two Super Bowls: Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XIX for the San Francisco 49ers...
, the team's best blocker, to block Taylor and, although Taylor still recorded a sack and three tackles, he was not as effective as normal. In contrast to his on-field success Taylor was already developing a reputation for recklessness off the field; after nearly getting killed during the season when his speeding resulted in a car crash, Young told the team's trainer he would be surprised if the linebacker lived past the age of 30, and the Giants insured Taylor's life for $2 million.
The 1982 NFL season, which was shortened to nine regular season games by a players
strikeStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, included one of the more memorable plays of Taylor's career. In the nationally televised Thanksgiving Day game against the
Detroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
the teams were tied 6–6 early in the fourth quarter, when the Lions drove deep into New York territory. Lions quarterback
Gary DanielsonGary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
dropped back to pass and threw the ball out to his left toward the sidelines. Taylor ran in front of the intended receiver, intercepted the pass, and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. Taylor was again named DPOY. The Giants finished 4-5 and out of the playoffs.
After the 1982 season, Perkins became head coach of the
University of AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and the Giants hired Parcells to replace him. In the coming years this change would prove crucial to the Giants and Taylor. Leading up to the
1983 seasonThe 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
, Taylor engaged in a training camp holdout that lasted three weeks and ended when he came back to the team under his old contract with three games left in the preseason.
Although Taylor recorded nine sacks and made the All-Pro team for the third consecutive season in 1983, the Giants struggled. The team went 3–12–1, and Parcells received heavy criticism from fans and the media. Taylor was forced to play inside linebacker for part of the season, a position which allowed him less pass rushing opportunities, when Carson was injured. Frustrated by the losing, Taylor began acting out by arriving late for meetings, and not participating in conditioning drills in practice. After the season, Taylor was involved in a fight for his services between the Giants and the
New Jersey GeneralsThe New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983-85, winning 31 regular-season games and losing 25 while going 0-2 in postseason competition...
of the
United States Football LeagueThe United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
. Taylor was given a $1 million interest-free, 25-year loan by Generals owner
Donald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
on December 14, 1983, with the provision that he begin playing in the USFL in 1988. Taylor regretted the decision, and less than a month later attempted to renege. The Giants were forced to negotiate with Trump to retain Taylor. The main results of these negotiations were threefold: 1) Taylor returned the $1 million to Trump, 2) the Giants paid Trump $750,000 over the next five seasons, and 3) the Giants gave Taylor a new six-year, $6.2-million-dollar contract.
The Giants' record rebounded to 9–7 in 1984, and Taylor had his fourth All-Pro season. He got off to a quick start, recording four sacks in a September game. In the playoffs the Giants defeated the
Los Angeles RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
16–13, but lost 21–10 to the eventual champion 49ers.
In contrast to the previous season the Giants headed into the
1985The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
season with a sense of optimism after their successful 1984 campaign and a 5–0 pre-season record. The Giants went 10–6, and Taylor spearheaded a defense that led the NFL in sacks with 68. Taylor had 13. One of the more memorable plays of his career occurred during this season. On a
Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game against the Redskins, Taylor's sack of Redskins quarterback
Joe TheismannJoseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...
inadvertently resulted in a
compound fractureA bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
of Theismann's right leg. After the sack, a distraught Taylor screamed for paramedics to attend to Theismann. Although this sack ended Theismann's career, Theismann has never blamed Taylor for the injury. Taylor says he has never seen video of the play and never wants to. During the first round of the playoffs, the Giants defeated the defending champion 49ers 17–3, but lost to the eventual champion Chicago Bears in the second round 21–0.
Mid-career and championships: 1986–1990
In 1986 Taylor had one of the most successful seasons by a defensive player in the history of the NFL. He recorded a league-leading 20.5 sacks and became one of just two defensive players to win the NFL
Most Valuable PlayerThe National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...
award and the only defensive player to be the unanimous selection for MVP. He also was named DPOY for the third time. The
Giants finished the season 14–2The 1986 New York Giants season was one of the most successful seasons in the professional American football franchise's history. The Giants, who play in the National Football Conference of the National Football League , won their fifth championship—and first Super Bowl—in franchise history during...
and outscored San Francisco and
WashingtonThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
by a combined score of 66–3 in the NFC playoffs. He appeared on the cover of
Sports Illustrated alone the week leading up to Super Bowl XXI with a warning from the magazine to the
Denver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
regarding Taylor. The Giants overcame a slow start in Super Bowl XXI to defeat Denver 39–20. Taylor made a key touchdown preventing tackle on a goal line play in the first half, stopping Broncos quarterback
John ElwayJohn Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
as he sprinted out on a rollout.
With the Super Bowl win, Taylor capped off an unprecedented start to his career. After six years, he had been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award (1981), NFL Defensive Player of the Year a record three times (1981, 1982, 1986), First-team All-Pro six times, become the first defensive player in NFL history unanimously voted the league's MVP (1986), and led his team to a championship (1986). After the win, however, Taylor felt let down rather than elated saying,
The Giants appeared to have a bright future coming off their 1986 championship season as they were one of the younger teams in the league. They struggled the next season however, falling to 6–9 in the strike-shortened
1987 seasonThe 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
. Taylor caused strife in the locker room when he broke the picket line after early struggles by the team. He explained his decision by saying "The Giants are losing. And I'm losing $60,000 a week." He finished the season as the team leader in sacks with 12 in 12 games played, but missed a game due to a hamstring injury, ending his consecutive games played streak at 106.
The Giants looked to rebound to their championship ways in 1988 but the start of the season was marred by controversy surrounding Taylor. He tested positive for cocaine and was suspended by the league for thirty days, as it was his second violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The first result in 1987 had been kept private and was not known to the public at the time. He was kept away from the press during this period and checked himself into rehab in early September. Taylor's over-the-edge lifestyle was becoming an increasing concern for fans and team officials. This was especially true given the eventual career paths of talented players like Hollywood Henderson and others whose drug problems derailed their careers. The Giants went 2–2 in the games Taylor missed. When Taylor returned he was his usual dominant self as he led the team in sacks again, with 15.5 in 12 games played. The season also contained some of the more memorable moments of Taylor's career. In a crucial late-season game with playoff implications against the New Orleans Saints, Taylor played through a torn pectoral muscle to record seven tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Taylor's presence in the lineup was important as the Giants' offense was having trouble mounting drives, and was dominated in time of possession. Television cameras repeatedly cut to the sidelines to show him in extreme physical pain as he was being attended to by the Giants staff. Taylor had already developed a reputation for playing through pain; in a 1983 game against the Eagles the team's training staff had to hide his helmet to prevent the injured Taylor from returning to the field. Taylor's shoulder was so injured that he had to wear a harness to keep it in its place. The Giants held on for a 13–12 win, and Parcells later called Taylor's performance "[t]he greatest game I ever saw." However, due to the tie-breaker system, the Giants missed the playoffs in 1988 despite a 10–6 record.
In 1989, Taylor recorded 15 sacks. He was forced to play the latter portion of the season with a fractured
tibiaThe tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
, suffered in a 34–24 loss to the 49ers in week 12, which caused him to sit out the second half of several games.* Anderson, Dave.
SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Will L. T. Try to Play on a Broken Ankle?,
The New York Times, December 3, 1989, accessed March 23, 2008.
*Litsky, Frank.
Despite Fracture, Taylor Plays,
The New York Times, December 4, 1989, accessed March 23, 2008.
*Anderson, Dave.
Aggravating is kind word,
The New York Times, December 4, 1989, accessed November 2, 2010. Despite his off-the-field problems, Taylor remained popular among his teammates and was voted defensive co-captain along with Carl Banks. The two filled the defensive captain's spot vacated by the retired Harry Carson. The retirement of the nine-time Pro Bowler Carson, broke up the Giants linebacker corps of Carson, Reasons, Banks, and Taylor, which spearheaded the team's defense nicknamed the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew" in the 1980s. The Giants went 12–4, and advanced to
the playoffsThe NFL playoffs following the 1989 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXIV.This was the last season in which the NFL used a 10-team playoff format. The league would expand the playoffs to 12 teams next season....
. In an exciting, down-to-the-wire game, the Rams eliminated the Giants 19–13 in the first round, despite Taylor's two sacks and one forced fumble.
Taylor held out of training camp before the
1990 seasonThe 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
, demanding a new contract with a salary of $2 million per year. Talks dragged into September with neither side budging, and as the season approached Taylor received fines at the rate of $2,500 dollars a day. He signed a three year $5 million contract (making him the highest paid defensive player in the league) just four days before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason, Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble against the Eagles. He finished with 10.5 sacks and earned his 10th
Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
in as many years, although the season marked the first time in Taylor's career that he was not selected to the All-Pro team. The Giants started out 10 – 0 and
finished with a 13–3 recordThe 1990 New York Giants season was one of the most successful seasons in the professional American football franchise's history. The Giants, who play in the National Football Conference of the National Football League , won their sixth championship—and second Super Bowl—in franchise history...
. In the playoffs, the Giants defeated the Bears 31–3, and faced the rival 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. They won 15–13, after Taylor recovered a key fumble late in the game to set up
Matt BahrMatthew David Bahr is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania where he excelled in both football and soccer...
's game-winning field goal. In
Super Bowl XXVSuper Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
, they played the
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and won one of the more entertaining Super Bowls in history, 20-19, after Buffalo's
Scott NorwoodScott Allan Norwood is a former American football placekicker in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. Norwood was an integral part of its offense during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and kicked in Buffalo's first two Super Bowl appearances...
missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired.
Final years and decline: 1991–1993
Following the 1990 season, Parcells, whom Taylor had become very close to, retired, and the team was taken over by
Ray HandleyRay Handley is a former American football player and coach who is best remembered for his stormy two seasons as head coach of the National Football League's New York Giants in the early 1990s.-Collegiate career:...
. 1991 marked a steep decline in Taylor's production. It became the first season in his career in which he failed to make the Pro Bowl squad, after setting a then record by making it in his first ten years in the league. Taylor finished with 7 sacks in 14 games and the Giants defense, while still respectable, was no longer one of the top units in the league.
Taylor rebounded in the early stages of what many thought would be his final season in 1992. Through close to nine games Taylor was on pace for 10 sacks and the Giants were 5–4. However, a ruptured
Achilles tendonThe Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
suffered in a November eighth game against
Green BayThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
sidelined him for the final seven games, during which the team went 1–6. Before the injury Taylor had missed only four games due to injury in his 12 year career. Throughout the 1992 season, and the ensuing offseason, Taylor was noncommittal about his future, alternately saying he might retire, then later hinting he wanted a longer-term contract.
Taylor returned for the
1993 seasonThe 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
enticed by the chance to play with a new coach (
Dan ReevesDaniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...
), and determined not to end his career due to an injury. The Giants had a resurgent season in 1993. They finished 11–5, and competed for the top NFC playoff seed. Taylor finished with 6 sacks, and the Giants defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed. They defeated the Vikings 17–10 in the opening round of the playoffs. The next week on January 15, 1994 in what would be Taylor's final game, the Giants were beaten 44–3 by the 49ers. As the game came to a conclusion, television cameras drew in close on Taylor who was crying. He announced his retirement at the post-game press conference saying, "I think it's time for me to retire. I've done everything I can do. I've been to Super Bowls. I've been to playoffs. I've done things that other people haven't been able to do in this game before. After 13 years, it's time for me to go."
Taylor ended his career with 1,088 tackles, 132.5 sacks (not counting the 9.5 sacks he recorded as a rookie because sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982), nine interceptions, 134 return yards, two touchdowns, 33 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, and 34 fumble return yards.
Impact on the NFL
Taylor is considered one of the best players to ever play in the NFL, and has been ranked as the top defensive player in league history by news outlets, media members, former players and coaches.*Smith, Stephen.
NFL's Top 100 Players of All-Time: Debate, November 5, 2010, accessed November 8, 2010. Note: This list made by the
NFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
, ranks him third overall, behind two offensive players (Rice and Brown).
*
Best defensive player in NFL history?, espn.com, March 26, 2007, accessed April 17, 2007.
* Celizic, Mike.
No way Rice is greatest player ever: 42-year-old might be best WR ever, but Brown, LT are best players, msnbc.com, September 6, 2005, accessed February 24, 2007.
* Prisco, Pete.
Year-End Awards: Can Tomlinson steal L.T. nickname?, cbssportsline.com, January 3, 2007, accessed April 17, 2007.
*
Does LT's conduct make him Hall of Fame worthy?, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, accessed January 29, 2007.
* Barall, Andy.
Jim Brown Should Be No. 1, but What About Most Underrated?,
The New York Times, November 5, 2010, accessed November 23, 2010.
* Joyner, K.C.
Taylor's level of dominance not seen in today's game, espn.com, March 27, 2008, accessed March 27, 2008.
* Taylor and Serby. pgs. 251–260 ("Props" chapter, includes quotes from players and coaches)
* Feldman, Bruce.
Ten who should be in, espn.com, March 14, 2007, accessed May 6, 2007. He has also been described as one of the most "feared" and "intimidating" players in NFL history. Taylor's explosive speed and power is credited with changing the position of outside linebacker from a "read and react" type of position to a more attacking, aggressive position.
Redskins coach
Joe GibbsJoe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
developed the two
tight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
offense and the position of
h-backAn H-Back is an offensive position in American football, and is also known as power back. The position is a hybrid of a fullback and a tight end. The position was made notable in the NFL by the Washington Redskins under head coach Joe Gibbs who ran a two tight end system...
to prevent Taylor from blitzing into the backfield unhindered. "We had to try in some way have a special game plan just for Lawrence Taylor. Now you didn't do that very often in this league but I think he's one person that we learned the lesson the hard way. We lost ball games." His skills changed the way offensive coaches blocked linebackers. In the late '70s and early '80s, a blitzing linebacker was picked up by a running back. However, these players were no match for Taylor. The tactic employed by Bill Walsh in the 1982 playoffs, using an offensive guard to block Taylor, was copied around the league. However, this left a hole in pass protection that a blitzing middle linebacker could exploit. Later, Walsh and other coaches began using offensive tackles to block Taylor. Later it became common for offensive linemen to pick up blitzing linebackers. In addition to the changes in offensive schemes Taylor influenced, he also introduced new defensive techniques to the game such as chopping the ball out of the quarterback's hands rather than tackling him.
Drugs and extreme measures
In contrast to his success on the football field, Taylor's personal life has been marred by drug usage and controversy. When Taylor was once asked what he could do that no outside linebacker could, his answer was, "Drink". However, alcohol abuse was not the largest of his substance abuse problems. After admitting to and testing positive for cocaine in 1987, he was suspended from football for 30 days in 1988 after failing a second drug test. After his second positive test he gave up drugs for five years as a third positive test would have ended his career. As he approached retirement however, he looked forward to picking up the habit again, saying in his second autobiography, "I saw coke as the only bright spot in my future." After his retirement he began abusing drugs on a regular basis. He went through drug rehab twice in 1995, only to later be arrested twice over a three-year span for attempting to buy cocaine from undercover police officers. During this period, he lived almost exclusively in his home with white sheets covering his windows and only associated with other drug users. Taylor later said, “I had gotten really bad. I mean my place was almost like a
crack houseCrack house is a term mainly used in the United States used to describe an old, often abandoned or burnt-out building often in an inner-city neighborhood where drug dealers and drug users buy, sell, produce, and use illegal drugs, including, but not limited to, crack cocaine.In the 1980s, inner...
." In his second autobiography, Taylor admitted that he had begun using drugs as early as his rookie season in the NFL. He has also stated that his first wife Linda, mother to his three children, once had to come pick him up from a crack house during his playing career.
In a November 2003 interview with
Mike WallaceMyron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
on the television news magazine
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, Taylor claimed he hired and sent
prostitutesProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
to opponents' hotel rooms the night before a game in an attempt to tire them out, and that at his peak, he spent thousands of dollars a day on narcotics. He also recounted several other instances of aberrant behavior, including arriving to a team meeting during his playing career in handcuffs after spending a night with some
call girlA call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
s. He said, "A couple of ladies that were trying out some new equipment they had. You know? And I just happened to, and they just didn't happen to have the key.” He also said that to beat NFL drug tests he routinely submitted the urine of his teammates.
Post-NFL life
In Taylor's final year in the NFL he started a company called All-Pro Products. The company went public at $5 a share, and tripled in value during its first month. The stock price reached $16.50 a share, at which point Taylor's stake had an estimated value of over $10 million. The company ceased production shortly thereafter however, and Taylor, who never sold his stock, lost several hundred thousand dollars. He had been defrauded by several members of the
penny stockIn the United States, penny stocks are common shares of small public companies that trade at less than $1.00. In some countries, similar shares of stock are known as cent stocks.-Concerns for investors:...
firm Hanover Sterling & Company, who had
short soldIn finance, short selling is the practice of selling assets, usually securities, that have been borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical assets back at a later date to return to that third party...
the company's stock, making it worthless. The Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that two traders had manipulated the price of the stock, which skyrocketed while the company was losing over $900,000. Taylor has also had self-inflicted financial problems; in 1997 he pled guilty to filing a false tax return in 1990, and in 2000 he was "sentenced to three months of house arrest, five years of probation, and 500 hours of community service for tax evasion."
After his career ended, Taylor worked in several regular television jobs. He first worked as a football analyst for the now defunct
TNT Sunday Night FootballThe NFL on TNT was the weekly United States television broadcast by Turner Network Television of Sunday evening National Football League games.-Sunday night games :...
. In a one-off show, Taylor also appeared as a wrestler in the
World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, defeating Bam Bam Bigelow in the main event of
WrestleMania XIWrestleMania XI was the eleventh annual WrestleMania pay-per-view event held by the World Wrestling Federation at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on April 2, 1995...
. He also worked as a color commentator on an amateur fighting program entitled
Toughman on the FX channel. On September 4, 1995, the Giants retired Phil Simms' jersey during halftime of a game against the Cowboys. Simms celebrated the moment by throwing an impromptu ceremonial pass to Taylor. Simms recalled, "[a]ll of a sudden it kind of hit me, I've put Lawrence in a really tough spot; national TV, he's got dress shoes and a sports jacket on, and he's had a few beers and he's going to run down the field and I'm going to throw him a pass." Simms motioned for Taylor to run a long pattern and after 30–40 yards threw him the pass. Taylor later said the situation made him more nervous than any play of his career, "I'm saying to myself (as the pass is being thrown), 'If I drop this pass, I got to run my black ass all the way back to
Upper Saddle RiverUpper Saddle River is an affluent borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,208. It is not to be confused with the neighboring borough of Saddle River.-History:...
because there ain't no way I'm going to be able to stay in that stadium'." Taylor caught the pass, however, and the capacity crowd in attendance cheered in approval.
Taylor pursued a career in acting, appearing in the
Oliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
movie
Any Given SundayAny Given Sunday is a 1999 American drama film directed by Oliver Stone depicting a fictional professional American football team. The film features an ensemble cast, consisting of Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, John C...
where he played a character much like himself. He appeared as himself in the HBO series
The SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and the film
The WaterboyThe Waterboy is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler alongside Henry Winkler, Kathy Bates, Jerry Reed, and Fairuza Balk. Lynn Swann, Lawrence Taylor, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Cowher, Paul Wight, and Rob Schneider have cameos...
. He also had a role in the
2000 version of ShaftShaft is a 2000 American action-crime film directed by John Singleton, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Pat Hingle, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Vanessa L. Williams, and Mekhi Phifer. This film is not a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, but rather a sequel,...
. Taylor voiced the steroid-riddled, possibly insane former football player B.J. Smith in the video game,
Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
. The character poked fun at his fearsome, drug-fueled public image. He also added his voice to the video game
Blitz: The LeagueBlitz: The League is an American football game by Midway as an unlicensed extension of their NFL Blitz series. Released after the NFL signed an exclusive licensing deal with Electronic Arts, it was released in October 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Lawrence Taylor, who provides voice acting...
and
its sequelBlitz: The League II is an American football video game in Midway's Blitz series. It was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 13, 2008. Five new teams and 4 relocated clubs are included in the new installment. The new teams are the Los Angeles Riot, the Houston Riders , Vancouver...
, which were partially based on his life in the NFL. He also acted in the 2000
Christian filmThe Christian film industry is an umbrella term for films containing a Christian -themed message or moral, produced by openly Christian filmmakers to a Christian audience....
Mercy StreetsMercy Streets is a 2000 Christian action/drama film written and directed by Jon Gunn. It starred Eric Roberts and Stacey Keach, among others.- Plot :...
with
Eric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and
Stacy KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
, and the 2003 prison movie
In HellIn Hell is a 2003 action thriller film directed by Ringo Lam and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.- Plot :Kyle LeBlanc is an American working overseas in Russia. When he hears his wife being attacked over the phone, Kyle rushes home to find that he's too late. The man who killed his wife is found...
with Jean Claude Van Damme.
In 1999, when Taylor became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there were some concerns that his hard-partying lifestyle and drug abuse would hurt his candidacy. These concerns proved to be ill-founded, however, as he was voted in on the first ballot. His son Lawrence Taylor Jr. gave his introduction speech at the induction ceremony. Taylor's ex-wife, his three children, and his parents were in attendance and during his induction speech Taylor acknowledged them saying, "[t]hank you for putting up with me for all those years." He also credited former Giants owner
Wellington MaraWellington Timothy Mara was the co-owner of the NFL's New York Giants from 1959 until his death, and one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of the National Football League. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925...
for being supportive of him saying, "[h]e probably cared more about me as a person than he really should have."
Taylor is currently married to his third wife. His soul-wrenching admission with Mike Wallace in 2003 reignited his popularity with the public. Taylor often spoke of his NFL years, which he played with reckless abandon, and the drug-abusing stages of his life as the "L.T." periods of his life. He described "L.T." as an adrenaline junkie who lived life on a thrill ride. Taylor said in 2003 that "L. T. died a long time ago, and I don't miss him at all...all that's left is Lawrence Taylor."
Taylor re-emerged into the public eye in July 2006, after appearing on the cover of a
Sports Illustrated issue dedicated to former athletes and sport figures. In the magazine, Taylor credited his hobby of
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
with helping him get over his previous hard-partying ways and drug filled lifestyle. He co-founded eXfuze, a
network marketingMulti-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...
company based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Along with former NFL players, such as Eric Dickerson and Seth Joyner, he was a spokesman for Seven+, the flagship multi-botanical drink produced by the company. His son Brandon recently signed a national letter to play with the
Purdue BoilermakersBoilermakers is the official nickname for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. As is common with athletic nicknames, it is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large....
. Taylor was a contestant on the
8th seasonThe eighth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on Monday, March 9, 2009, as part of ABC's spring line-up. The show generally followed the format of previous seasons, with 13 couples, although there were some changes, including two new dances , and an occasional dance-off between the bottom...
of
Dancing with the StarsDancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
, partnered with
Edyta ŚliwińskaEdyta Śliwińska is a professional ballroom dancer. She is best known for her appearances on the American version of the reality television series Dancing with the Stars. Śliwińska appeared on all of the first ten seasons of the American series, but did not return for the eleventh.- Early life...
. He was eliminated in the seventh week on the April 21, 2009 show.
Legal issues
In 2009, Taylor started having troubles in his personal life again. On November 8, he was arrested in
Miami-Dade County, FloridaMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
for leaving the scene of an accident after striking another vehicle with his
Cadillac EscaladeThe Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury sport utility vehicle sold by the General Motors luxury brand, Cadillac. It was the division's first major entry into the popular SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to German and Japanese competitors and to Ford's...
. He had already committed the same offense in 1996 when he totaled his
Lexusis the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
in a one-car accident and left the scene, saying he did not think the law required the reporting of a single driver incident. He was released on a $500 bond, and the other driver later sued him, seeking $15,000. He was arrested six months later for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. He was charged with felony third-degree statutory rape, for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with someone under 17. He was also charged with third-degree patronization for allegedly paying the underage girl $300 to have sex with him. Taylor pled guilty and on March 22, 2011 was sentenced to six years probation as part of a plea agreement, in which he pled guilty to the misdemeanors of sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute. He will also have to register as a low-risk level one sex offender.
Career statistics
Sources:
| SEASON |
TEAM |
GP |
Sacks |
Int |
Yds |
TD(int) |
FR |
Yds |
TD(fumb) |
| 1981 |
New York |
16 |
9.5* |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
| 1982 |
New York |
9 |
7.5 |
1 |
97t |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1983 |
New York |
16 |
9 |
2 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| 1984 |
New York |
16 |
11.5 |
1 |
-1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1985 |
New York |
16 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
25 |
0 |
| 1986 |
New York |
16 |
20.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1987 |
New York |
12 |
12 |
3 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1988 |
New York |
12 |
15.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 1989 |
New York |
16 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1990 |
New York |
16 |
10.5 |
1 |
11t |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 1991 |
New York |
14 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| 1992 |
New York |
9 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
| 1993 |
New York |
16 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
|
184 |
132.5** |
9 |
134 |
2 |
11 |
34 |
1 |
* Unofficial statistic (sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982), however this number is stated on Taylor's Pro Football Hall of Fame bio, and is considered to be accurate.
**Including the 9.5 Taylor unofficially recorded as a rookie, his total is 142.
Key to Abbreviations
GP= Games Played
Int= Interception
Yds= Yards
t= Play resulted in a touchdown
TD= Touchdowns
FR= Fumbles Recovered
Sources
- Danyluk, Tom. Super '70s, Chicago: Mad Uke Publishing. 2005 ISBN 0977038300
- Eskenazi, Gerald. A Sports-Writer's Life: From the Desk of a New York Times Reporter, Columbia: University of Missouri Press
The University of Missouri Press is a university press founded in 1958 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.-External links:*...
. 2004 ISBN 0826215106
- Frostino, Nino. Right on the Numbers, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing
Trafford Publishing is a publisher using print on demand technology, formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and now based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.-History:...
. 2004 ISBN 1412033055
- Gutman, Bill. Parcells: A Biography, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. 2001 ISBN 0786709340
- Harris, Othello, Nolte, Claire Elaine, and Kirsch, George B. Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000 ISBN 0313299110
- Lupica, Mike. LT, New York
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, New York Media, LLC December 24–31, 1990 issue, ISSN 0028-7369 (available online)
- Montana, Joe, and Weiner, Richard. Joe Montana's Art and Magic of Quarterbacking: The Secrets of the Game from One of the All-Time Best, Ontario: Owl Books, 1998 ISBN 0805042784
- Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., and Korch, Rick. The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1994 ISBN 0312114354
- Pervin, Lawrence A. Football's New York Giants: A History. McFarland 2009 ISBN 0786442689
- Powell, Adam. University of North Carolina Football, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing
Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of local history.-History:It was founded in Dover, New Hampshire in 1993 by United Kingdom-based Tempus Publishing, but became independent in 2004....
. 2006 ISBN 0738542881
- Russo, Christopher, & Allen, St. John. The Mad Dog Hall of Fame: The Ultimate Top-Ten Rankings of the Best in Sports. Broadway 2007 ISBN 0767923723
- Schwartz, Paul. Tales from the New York Giants Sideline, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. 2004 ISBN 1582617589
- Shampoe, Clay. The Virginia Sports Hall Of Fame: Honoring Champions Of The Commonwealth, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. 2005 ISBN 0738517763
- Rand, Jonathan. Riddell Presents the Gridiron's Greatest Linebackers, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. 2003 ISBN 1582616256
- Smith, Ron and Moritz, Carl. The Sporting News Selects Football's 100 Greatest Players: A Celebration of the 20th Century's Best, Missouri: Sporting News Publishing Co. 1999 ISBN 0-892-04624-4
- Sprechman, Jordan and Shannon, Bill. This Day in New York Sports, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. 1998 ISBN 1571672540
- Taylor, Lawrence and Falkner, David. LT: Living on the Edge New York: Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. 1987 ISBN 0812917030
- Taylor, Lawrence and Serby, Steve. LT: Over the Edge Tackling Quarterbacks, Drugs, and a World Beyond Football. New York: HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. 2003 ISBN 0060185511
- Taylor, Lawrence. Taylor (Icons of the NFL). New York: Rugged Land. 2006 ISBN 1590710827
- Walsh, Chris. New York Giants Football: Guide and Record Book. Illinois: Triumph Books 2009 ISBN 1600781896
- Ziegel, Vic. Giants in the Earth. New York Media, LLC Vol. 16, No. 40 October 10, 1983 ISSN 0028-7369 (available online
External links